Toy corn cob

ABSTRACT

A SIMULATED CORN COB THAT IS TO BE EMPLOYED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AND WHICH COMPREHENDS A MULTIPLICITY OF SECTIONS BEING DETACHABLY CONNECTED SO THAT THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF AN EAR OF CORN MAY BE DISCUSSED SEPARATELY AS THE APPROPRIATE SECTION IS DISASSEMBLED AND EXHIBIT SEPARATELY SO THAT THE DEGREES OF GROWTH MAY BE MADE MORE APPROPRIATELY TO THE STUDENT.

Feb. 23, 1971 R. w. FIELDS TOY CORN'COB Filed Aug. 8, 1968 w a if;

' INVENTOR; yew/4R0 W551 D5 United States Patent 3,564,757 TOY CORN COB Richard W. Fields, 714 Chapel Hill Blvd., Boynton Beach, Fla. 33435 Filed Aug. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 751,163 Int. Cl. A63h 33/00 US. Cl. 46-11 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A simulated corn cob that is to be employed for educational purposes and which comprehends a multiplicity of sections being detachably connected so that the different areas of an ear of corn may be discussed separately as the appropriate section is disassembled and exhibit separately so that the degress of growth may be made more apparent to the student.

The present invention relates to a toy that resembles or simulates a corn cob or more particularly the invention relates to a toy which provides features for educational purposes of mechanically assembling or disassembling of the component parts.

The invention comprises in its simple embodiment an internal hollow core of plastic or other material having threaded male members at each end, a series such as 8, 12 or 18 of rings that simulate rows of kernels when the rings are arranged in stacked array on the hollow core, and a tip simulating an end of a cob that has a female threaded portion which engages one end of the hollow core while a stern, flange and female threaded portion engages the other end of said core.

The objects thereof are to provide an educational or toy device which is particularly adapted for use and play. Each ring of corn kernels may turn on the internal core, and because each kernel on each ring is colored differently, it is apparent that children will delight in making different color combinations. Colors may be lined up vertically and also varied to present a stripe or helical appearance. The entire ear of corn may be taken apart easily and it presents many educational aspects to the young children.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon full consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view of the several components of the corn cob toy showing the invention, in which a series of the rings are connected on the core; and

FIG. 2 is essentially a cross-sectional view taken along an axis of the corn cob toy of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a corn cob having an internal core 12 that is hollow throughout and is provided with threaded male members at each end thereof slightly recessed from the outside diameter of the core. The core is of a cylindrical construction and may be made of plastic and is hollow throughout its entire length.

There are a series of plurality of toroidal members 14, 14, 14 of a common inside diameter that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the core, and having an outside diameter that is disposed to provide the taper usually found in natural cobs of corn. They are each constructed of plastic material and are colored so that they may be aligned together to form rows, and when they are assembled on the core they present an appearance of a real ear of corn.

The outer edge of each ring of corn will be serrated to represent individual kernels of corn and each kernel of corn will be colored differently from its neighbor lying to either side of it. Each ring of corn will have its kernels colored in the same colors in the same sequence so that all the rings could be turned to such a position as to present a striped color arrangement.

At the small and outside end of the corn cob there is a piece of plastic 20 which represents the tip of the cob and it is provided with a flanged portion 22 to engage the next adjacent ring 14, and it also contains a female threaded portion 24 for engaging the male threaded portion 26.

The other end of the corn cob -10 is provided with a connected stem 30 that is of plastic material and also contains a flange 32 that is adapted to be positioned adjacent to the next adjacent ring. Extending from the flange 32 is the threaded female portion 36 for engaging the threaded end portion 38 of the core 12.

The size of the various components may be left up to the producer or manufacturer of such parts and toys, but they are all sufficiently large so that infants are not able to swallow any of these component parts.

Additional embodiments of the invention in this specification will occur to others and therefore it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the appended claims and not by the embodiment described hereinabove. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claim in determining the full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A childrens toy corn cob comprising a hollow shank core, a set of toroidal rings having an inner surface rotatably fitted loosely over the core and an outer surface with projections simulating kernels of corn, the surface of the cob when said rings are in a particular position relative to each other appearing yellow with various shades of striped areas formed by groups of adjacent kernels, an end tip having a flange and a threaded female member to engage a threaded male portion at an end of said core, an end stem having a flange and a threaded female member adjacent thereto to engage threaded male portion at the other end of said core, each of said flanges adapted to engage a side of one of said toroidal rings when placed adjacent thereto, said end tip and said end stem serving the three-fold function of introducing children to the functions served by threaded and smooth surfaces of cylindrical elements, allowing children to develop mechanical ability in assembling and disassembling the corn cob, and preventing the toy from falling apart when tipped over, the toy developing the childs structural visualization, finger dexterity, visual acuity, and forming a three dimensional puzzle wherein children must match up said rings according to their outside diameter and rotatably align the kernels on said rings according to uniform shades of color for creating a realistic corn cob having said various shades of striped areas, and the top developing the childs creative ability and aesthetic awareness, allowing him to produce various color arrangements along the corn cob surface such as checkered, circular, and helical patterns.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1956 Brennan et al. 461X 1/1969 Izumi 46-22 US. Cl. X.R. 4617, 22 

